Starting a calcium reactor

[colettem]

My tank has been set-up a month now. I'm just starting to see some coralline algae growth and today I bought two small stony corals (a maze and a trumpet). I have an aqua medic calcium reactor which up to now I haven't had running as I was told that in a new tank it would lower the pH too much. When would be the right time to start using the reactor? Should I maybe start adding a 2 part calcium supplement for the time being and wait until the calcium demands in my tank are higher before starting the reactor? (btw calcium was 480 last time I checked it).

 

[Freed]

Keep an eye on your calcium for a while. Normal water changes should keep it up to par with only those two corals in there. Also what is your Alkalinity? A calcium reactor will usually only keep calcium and alk stable and won't raise it. If you add a lot of stony corals down the road and you notice you can't keep your calcium and alk stable with regular water changes you can then set up your calcium reactor to keep levels up where you want them. Test your calcium and alk levels over a few days time period and keep track of them. On a daily basis you can figure out how much calcium and alk your tank uses and see if the level stays up where you want it between water changes. Usually anywhere from 380-450 ppm calcium and a dkh of 8-12 is acceptable. A calcium reactor may or may not lower the pH in your system. It all depends on a lot of factors. They usually contribute to a lower pH though because the water coming from a calcium reactor has a very low pH of 6.4-6.8

 

[colettem]

Thanks, my alkalinity at the moment is 7 which is on the low side - haven't done a water change for ten days though so hopefully it will get a boost next time I change the water.